On-set safety doc “We Are Sarah Jones” underway

A documentary calling for increased on-set safety measures in film production is underway, centering on the life of 27-year-old camera assistant Sarah Jones (pictured), who died while filming Midnight Rider.

A documentary calling for increased on-set safety measures in film production is underway, centering on the life of 27-year-old camera assistant Sarah Jones (pictured), who died during the filming of the feature Midnight Rider.

Directed by Chris Crescitelli and Eric Smith, We Are Sarah Jones - which is receiving support from the Sarah Jones Film Foundation and prodco 3opolis – is to detail the life and death of the camera assistant, who passed away during the filming of the drama in February 2014, when, during a shoot on a railway trestle, a train crashed into the film set, killing Jones and injuring several other crew members. The film’s director Randall Miller pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and criminal trespass and was sentenced to two years in jail this past March.

“Sarah’s death galvanized our industry into focusing on the issue of set safety,” said co-director Smith in a statement. “Through the eyes of [her parents] Richard and Elizabeth Jones, this documentary will explore who Sarah was and what it was about her that made her so beloved by so many of her colleagues, and in turn made her loss especially devastating. Our goal is to tell Sarah’s story, and by doing so, to support the Sarah Jones Film Foundation’s ultimate goals of promoting and encouraging set safety.”

Richard Jones added: “The goal is that it will serve to not just honor Sarah’s legacy but to help engage the entire film community to generate achievable, productive, constructive on-set safety measures.”

Production on the film – which is to serve as a fundraising vehicle for the Sarah Jones Film Foundation – will kick off this summer with a crowdfunding campaign, with a release eyed for 2016.

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About The Author

Daniele Alcinii is a news reporter at realscreen, the leading international publisher of non-fiction film and television industry news and content. He joins the rs team with journalism experience following a stint out west with Sun Media in Edmonton's Capital Region, and communications work in Melbourne, Australia and Toronto. You can follow him on Twitter at @danielealcinii.